FORT WAYNE, Ind. – For the fourth time in six years, the Indiana Tech volleyball team claimed the Liz Lykowski Memorial Tournament title, winning all four of their matches, losing just three total sets. The Warriors (17-11) opened play on Saturday with a four set victory over the University of Saint Francis (Ind.) before sweeping #RV St. Catharine College in the finale.
After coming from behind in both four set wins yesterday, the Warriors began Saturday the same way, dropping the first set against the Cougars (13-14), 23-25, before taking the final three, 25-19, 25-15 and 25-13.
There were five ties and four lead changes, with seven of the combined nine instances coming in the first set which saw four ties and three lead changes. In the opening set Tech opened up a five point margin at 9-4, but a seven point rally by St. Francis gave the visitors an 11-9 lead. Tech battled to tie the score at 17, but the Cougars won the next four points and seven of the final 12 to win the set, 25-23.
Katelyn St. Martin began the second game serving six straight points for the Warriors, a lead Tech didn't relinquish. Tech stretched the lead to nine at 20-11 thanks to a six point run, eventually winning the set 25-19, using their momentum to close out the match, holding USF to less than 15 points in each of the final two games.
The Warriors outhit the Cougars in every set, with the widest margin coming in the final game as the Orange and Black hit .400 (13-3-25) while holding St. Francis to .043 (7-6-23). Tech hit .211 (50-22-133) overall with the visitors hitting .046 (36-30-130) in the contest.
Tournament MVP,
Shanice Richards, led the offense with 11 kills and a .444 (11-3-18) hitting percentage while also leading the team with four blocks (1 solo, 3 assists).
Cassandra Sarabia and St. Martin each added nine kills with
Karli Jones leading the team with 20 assists, matching
Taylor Kelso's 20 digs.
The last match of the tournament was arguably the most exciting, featuring 24 ties and 10 lead changes as the Warriors swept the Patriots (25-9) 25-23, 26-24 and 25-22.
The Orange and Black got off to an inauspicious start as St. Catharine won seven of the first nine points to take an early 7-2 lead, but a five point Tech rally tied the score at seven. After falling behind 13-10, Tech scored four consecutive points for a 14-13 lead. The Patriots proceeded to take five of the next seven for an 18-16 margin. A
Christine Foest kill sparked a four point Warrior run and
Stacy Nagy broke a 20-20 tie moments later to give the home team the lead for good.
In set number two, the Patriots again jumped out to a large lead, 5-2, only to see Tech win seven of the next 10 to take a 9-8 lead. The teams traded points until Tech scored three unanswered to jump ahead 21-17. St. Catharine answered, winning seven of 10 points to tie the score at 24, but a St. Martin kill followed by a Kelso service ace gave the Warriors a 2-0 lead in the match.
In the final game, the two teams tied seven times in the first 20 points, the last coming at 10. That's when the Warriors took over, winning 10 of 13 points to take a commanding, 20-13 lead. The Patriots tried to battle back, but a pair of kills from Nagy and one each from St. Martin, Richards and Foest sealed the sweep and a fifth straight victory.
The Warriors once again outhit their opponent in all three sets, with a high of .357 (18-3-42) in the second game. For the match the Orange and Black hit .296 (58-16-142) while St. Catharine hit .206 (39-13-126).
All-Tournament team member, Foest, led the offense with 16 kills and a .467 (16-2-30) hitting percentage. St. Martin and Nagy also finished with double-digit kills, registering 15 and 13, respectively.
Jones tallied 27 assists and Kelso had 18 digs, both team highs.
Emileen Palka chipped in 20 assists with St. Martin adding 14 digs.
The Warriors return to Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference action on Wednesday, Oct. 29 when they travel to Southfield, Mich. to face Lawrence Tech at 7 p.m.
For complete results from the tournament and the complete all-tournament team, check out the Liz Lykowski Memorial Tournament page
here.
